Introducing the BrewKart

First off, credit to where credit is due: the inspiration for this rig came from jkarp and Boerderij Kabouter. Without you guys leading the way, I would never have been able to build this. Also worth mentioning is the quality electrical info from CodeRage; his advise kept me from building an unsafe system.

Now on to the good stuff... I originally started out thinking that I wanted to build a single tier system to replace my current 10 gallon rig. But then, after reading the threads from the folks mentioned above, and dwelling on what a pain it is to brew outside during the summer in Phoenix, I changed course and decided to build a rig that could run inside, be 120V electric, and be all (or mostly) stainless...

Thus was born the BrewKart... I ended up going with copper piping due to cost and ease of handling, and went with a 2 vessel Brutus 20 like system that incorporated a dual function coil for HERMS control and chilling. I don’t claim to have anything too original here, but threw together a number of well established concepts to build a rig that would work for me. I went with the largest heating element that I could run on 120V (2000W HD) and sized the setup accordingly. I start with about 5 gallons preboil since that really the most the element can boil and end up with just a bit under 4 gallons into the fermenter. After about six weeks of planning and about 4 weeks of building during my spare time, I ran the first pilot batch through this weekend. Overall it was a big success, though I need to work on a couple things. Even with a semi-sparge, I still obtained 66% efficiency, and I think I can tweak my process a bit to get to my planned 70%. I also need to return to my stainless scrubby method of filtering the drain on the boil kettle - the modified kettle screen clogged too quickly with whole leaf hops.

Here’s the price and parts list; I’ve accounted for everything here except tools (let me know if you need live links - not sure how to past an actual spreadsheet here...):


Now on to a few pics.

Stainless...


More Parts:


Ready to start the build:


Progress:

Control panel coming together:


More or less done:


Wet test:


At home in my office:


Recirc:

Almost at boil:


Indoor brew in action:


Will post a couple short videos in a few...

That thing is sweet, nicely done!

Nice build!

Thorongil, I love that set-up. I want something small like that. Slightly smaller actually. I like brewing 2.5 gallon batches. I know, I'm probably wasting my time and money, because there will be someone who doesn't understand why I want to brew such a small batch and why I'm willing to spend the money. Anyway, nice work. That is really a beautiful rig. I have often wondered how brewers clean those rigs. How do you do it? Is it labor intensive? Do you have to take it all apart?

eanmcnulty said:

I have often wondered how brewers clean those rigs. How do you do it? Is it labor intensive? Do you have to take it all apart?

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I can take it apart quite easily if I want to, but normal cleaning is done by flushing with hot Oxiclean followed by clean water. That's after dumping grains and hosing out the kettle... Cleanup is quite a bit easier than my 10 gallon cooler HERMS system...

Its beautiful, i love 2 vessel setups.

Very nice work. Looks clean and professional.

AWESOME! I love it. The cart idea is great and looks really nice. I am glad it worked well.

I am still dialing in the process for max efficiency too. One thing that has really helped so far is using Kaiser's efficiency sheet. Then you can pinpoint where your losses are occurring. Oddly enough, I have very consistent lauter efficiency at about 75-78%, but my conversion efficiency dropped to 90% on one batch hurting my brewhouse efficiency overall. Not sure what happened on that one, but if you have a refractometer, you can watch it real time, and adjust accordingly.

I have been hovering around 68% efficiency with the Simple Brewery.

I can send you all my spreadsheet stuff for brewdays if you send me an email at jstalbot at gmail dot com. I haven't renewed my membership yet so I can't attach stuff or receive PMs.

That looks fantastic. I'll add this to my list of references. Got the first couple deliveries of stainless this weekend for my build, and more on the way. Thanks for posting.

nice job! looks real clean and easy to use.

Please tell me that's the location used to brew as well!? That's awesome.
My goal is an indoor brewery to sit in the bar area. Hoping to just get setup for electric first. Then I can worry about making it pretty enough to be placed in the bar

Very cool setup! Since it appears that you are brewing indoors, what do you do about the steam?

Very Nice. I am a huge fan of compact rigs.

Did you have trouble working with the 1/2 copper? Was it easy to bend? I am thinking of using bendable copper on my next project.

kmat123 said:

Since it appears that you are brewing indoors, what do you do about the steam?

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If you look at the top of this picture, you'll see a fan on top of the bookcase. I think the fan's original intent was for drying carpets, but it does great with steam and smoke too... Window is open...



I also forgot to post this one earlier; the inside of the boil kettle:



I hope to have a couple small videos up later once I solve my formatting issues...

kmat123 said:

Very cool setup! Since it appears that you are brewing indoors, what do you do about the steam?

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Yes, what he said. My first thought when I saw the "Indoor brew in action:" picture was where is the humidity going to go.

Brewmoor said:

Did you have trouble working with the 1/2 copper? Was it easy to bend?

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I used soft copper for all the bends and just did it by hand with the spring-tool-thingy to prevent kinks. Took a bit of muscle, but I did not use any specialty tools. You can't get a real tight diameter though, which is why I went with the soldered elbows in some places...

thorongil said:

More or less done:

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Great picture. I spy the Flame of the West.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

Great picture. I spy the Flame of the West.

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I kinda thought you might...

Holy crap. That's beautiful.

Ok, finally got my videos figured out...

Here's the rig running, note the exhaust fan:


Here's how it boils just under 5 gallons at 100%:

Ran batch #2 through the new rig yesterday - it was an Oatmeal Extra Stout with a 90 min mash and I managed to get 72.5% efficiency. I am very pleased with this and think I have my process dialed in well on this new rig. 2 vessel brewing FTW!

Heating strike:


Mashing:


Boiling - Hops added (love the paint strainer bags...):

So is that running off one 110v outlet? Impressive, Clean, small footprint.

bendavanza said:

So is that running off one 110v outlet? Impressive, Clean, small footprint.

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Yes indeed... though it does need 20 amps.

I brewed my 3rd batch on the rig on Monday and again got 72% efficiency. I love this thing.

What I really need to help strengthen the boil a bit is a custom lid for the kettle that has an exhaust stack and view door like a pro rig...

That is really a thing of beauty. I like that it runs on 110v as opposed to the 220v that many electric set ups require.

thorongil said:

What I really need to help strengthen the boil a bit is a custom lid for the kettle that has an exhaust stack and view door like a pro rig...

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I have considered this too. I haven't really looked into it though. If you find anything out please post it up.

Will do. I'm going to start searching for SS fabricators and see if I can get a quote...

Nice job dude! I gotta see this one day. I remember talking to you that time at Papago awhile back.

I finally just finished getting my 10g all grain setup going and its getting hot. Next step, 10g all electric for indoor brewing!

Sweet... I just got pimped!
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/community/pimp-my-system/show?title=mike-tinkers-10-gallon-herms-system

D-: Holy crap. This makes me wish I had a house so I could build one of these bad boys.

It'll fit in an apartment just fine...

mcamarra said:

D-: Holy crap. This makes me wish I had a house so I could build one of these bad boys.

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Owning a house is a great feeling of accomplishment besides you can do what you damn well please with the new found space, brewery included.

Agreed - i'm on my 3rd house now and will never rent again... but for those who do, this brewery might actually be an option...

I sent photos and parts list to a couple friends across the country, one question was asked, what was used for the control panel? It looks like a 12" x 12" x 3" or 4" deep plastic box. Got a name and price of this box? Thanks.

I believe it's 8x8x4... just a common electrical box from Lowes.

Thanks Mike this is great, now I must see how the parts fit inside.
I'll go with two, power with seperate control box.

Looks Great! How long does it take to bring a 5 gallon batch to a boil?

Hard to tell on the boil time, but from mashout at 170 it takes about 15 min or so to boil.

As for the inside of the box... things are pretty cramped in there, plus i used stiff home power wiring which makes getting it open a PITA. I'll probably get a bigger box at some point and add a temp probe or 2...